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arXiv · 1007.2136

Improved detection of small atom numbers through image processing

C. F. Ockeloen·A. F. Tauschinsky·R. J. C. Spreeuw·S. Whitlock
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Abstract

We demonstrate improved detection of small trapped atomic ensembles through advanced post-processing and optimal analysis of absorption images. A fringe removal algorithm reduces imaging noise to the fundamental photon-shot-noise level and proves beneficial even in the absence of fringes. A maximum-likelihood estimator is then derived for optimal atom-number estimation and is applied to real experimental data to measure the population differences and intrinsic atom shot-noise between spatially separated ensembles each comprising between 10 and 2000 atoms. The combined techniques improve our signal-to-noise by a factor of 3, to a minimum resolvable population difference of 17 atoms, close to our ultimate detection limit.

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C. F. Ockeloen, A. F. Tauschinsky, R. J. C. Spreeuw, S. Whitlock. 2010-07-13. Improved detection of small atom numbers through image processing. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreva.82.061606

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